by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current
After weeks of extreme heat across the West, health officials have reported numerous deaths in Southern Nevada, while emergency rooms across the state are seeing record numbers of people seeking treatment for heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses.
At least 16 people have died from heat-related illness in Clark County so far in 2023, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office. In one troubling incident, two women were found dead in the Valley of Fire State Park after failing to return from a hike during a state-wide excessive heat warning.
Emergency department visits related to the heat across Nevada in July more than doubled, compared to the same period last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Based on current trends, local medical examiners say emergency room visits in Southern Nevada for heat-related illnesses in July will likely eclipse all of last year.
Dr. Ketan Patel, the associate medical director at University Medical Center’s adult emergency department in Southern Nevada, said the unrelenting triple-digit heat across Las Vegas has led to a massive spike in patients needing emergency care for heat-related illnesses.
“We are absolutely seeing a very noticeable increase in heat exposure cases, patients with hypothermia, and other adverse effects from the heat over the last couple of weeks, especially with the consecutive days of 110 degree heat,” Patel said.
This month, UMC’s emergency department’s saw about 80 patients affected by heat-related illnesses, a massive increase from the 17 patients the hospital saw for heat-related illnesses in June. It’s also a huge increase from the 20 patients with heat-related illnesses the hospital cared for in July last year.
“The trend looks like we’re going to have more heat-related presentations, just in this month of July, than we did all last year. It’s been an exceptionally hot month in July,” Patel said.
Public health department data shows that people 45 years or older and outdoor workers made up the bulk of emergency department visits due to heat-related illness in Southern Nevada so far this summer, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.
“We’ve seen many people that through their job have to be outside,” Patel said. “You also definitely notice a higher incidence of heat-related illnesses in elderly people. Just by nature, they’re more prone to the effects of heat, and they can have more adverse effects from the heat.”
Heat-related illness occurs when a person’s body temperature rises faster than it can cool down, which can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and can even damage the brain or other vital organs. Researchers found that in the U.S, the increase in days with temperatures of at least 90 degrees was associated with an average of 1,373 extra deaths per year.
Medical examiners and local public health officials warn that common prescription drugs and inhibitors can make people more susceptible to heat-related illnesses or death, including alcohol, over-the-counter allergy medicine, blood pressure medications and antidepressants.
“Something as simple as Benadryl that people take for allergies can affect your ability to cope with the heat and respond to the heat. It can decrease circulation of blood flow, which can cause you to overheat,” Patel said.
Record-breaking temperatures and extreme heat waves are becoming more common and severe, with the past eight years being the hottest years on record and 2023 on pace to become the hottest ever, according to the World Meteorological Organization. While it’s impossible to trace any particular weather event to human-caused climate change, the trend is undeniably linked, say scientists.
Back-to-back triple-digit temperatures in Las Vegas will likely continue into early August, according to the National Weather Service.
Stephanie McAfee — the Nevada state climatologist and an associate professor of geography at the University of Nevada, Reno — said this year “the heat story is about July.”
July broke the record for most days with a day-time high temperature of at least 105 degrees in Las Vegas, beating a record of 25 days, which happened in 2017, 1989, and 1972.
The daytime high temperature in July reached at least 100 degrees every day of the month, according to the weather station at Harry Reid International Airport, which has recorded weather data since 1948.
Based on historical data, there have only been four other Julys on record, where every day of the month in Las Vegas reached at least 100 degrees: 2010, 1988, 1971, 1963. In 2020, only one day in July failed to reach triple-digit weather.
June, on the other hand, only had one day of triple-digit temperatures this year, making it unusually cool. Typically, June has about 16 days of triple-digit temperatures, McAfee said.
Temperatures in July have been “a little more unusual” in other ways, McAfee said.
“There have already been 15 days this July when temperatures hit 110. That has happened before, but not in a long time — 1979 and 1959,” McAfee said. “This summer the airport also tied the 1961 record for the longest streak of days with highs at or above 110 — 10 days.”
Record nighttime temperatures have also contributed to the hotter than average temperatures this July, said McAfee. The nighttime low in Las Vegas this July has been over 85 degrees on average. July also saw a record breaking seven nights with a nighttime low of 90 degrees or more.
“The previous record was six nights, which hit in 2010 and 2018. And those really hot nights are becoming much more common. Before 2003, there was the odd July with one night in the ‘90s. Since 2012, the airport has had at least one night that hot every July,” McAfee said.
High nighttime temperatures are also likely contributing to the record number of patients seeking emergency care for heat-related illness, said Patel.
“We’ve had many patients who unfortunately don’t have access to air conditioning, and they tried to tough it out. They’re actually remarkably able to do that for a fair amount of time. But when you add a cumulative total of 10 straight days of extreme heat and nighttime temperatures above 90 degrees, it definitely takes a toll. It just chips away at your ability to cope, until finally, in the end, you have no choice except to seek care,” Patel said.
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